d in a flash and without warning. a meteor weighing 15 million pounds streaked across the sky over russia today causing a shock wave with a force equivalent to a small atomic bomb. the biggest meteor blast in more than a century. more than a thousand people were hurt, most from flying glass when windows were blown out. that streak of light could be seen for hundreds of miles. the city of chelyabinsk-- 900 miles east of moscow-- bore the brunt. mark phillips begins our coverage. >> reporter: this>> reporter: i visits from outer space may have been happening since the dawn of time but never before in the age of the dashboard video camera. on a highway outside of chelyabinsk in central russia a flash of light emerges out of a clear blue sky. it becomes a streak then foreboding glow. it leaves a trail and other cameras are drawn skyward until -- (explosions and screaming) -- a blast and its echos are

captured here and here. some of the explosions are the sonic boom caused by a space object the size of a large bus moving through the air at what the russian academy of science said was 33,000 miles an hour. if you were in your apartment you suspected something was up. and then you were sure. if you thought you were safe in a classroom, you weren't. it caused widespread damage to buildings, blew out thousands of windows, knocked down walls. miraculously, the damage to people was minor, mostly cuts from splintered glass. michael garnett a canadian goalie who plays for chelyabinsk in the russian hockey league has felt a few bangs in his time, but nothing like this. >> i was terrified. i had just hit the snooze bar on my iphone for another nine

minutes of sleep and all of a sudden, you know, i fell back asleep and i hear this loud bang! i live in a 24-story building on the 23rd floor and all of a sudden i look up and the lights are shaking and i hear car alarms going off and it was just incredible. >> reporter: 70 miles outside of town a meteor-shaped hole in the ice of a lake indicates the nameless visitor's last resting place. meteorite fragments were scattered around like interstellar calling cards. as if anyone would ever forget. chelyabinsk has made history before for not being in the news. it was part of the old soviet union's nuclear weapons program and was a closed zone, forbidden ground for foreigners. now it's famous as the place where heaven and earth met with a bang, anthony. >> mason: mark phillips, thanks mark. derrick pitts is chief astronomer at the franklin

institute in philadelphia. derrick, what caused this huge explosion and sonic boom that's associated with this meteor? and why did it cause so much damage over such a wide area? >> reporter: anthony this meteor was coming into the earth's atmosphere at 40,000 miles per hour. as it comes into the atmosphere, it has to dissipate that energy somehow and the dissipation goes into heating the air around it as it plunges in. but it also goes into breaking up the meteor, so it breaks up into smaller pieces. that helps to dissipate the energy. the reason why it was spread over such a large area is because the measurement on the contrail behind it is about 300 miles long. this is essentially skipping into the atmosphere so it's going to create a shock wave, like a sonic boom, that rolls along the surface of the planet for quite some distance, that would create the damage over such a wide area. >> mason: there was another close encounter today as an asteroid passed within 17,200 miles of earth well inside the orbit of some of our satellites. are these events related or is this a cosmic coincidence?

>> well, you know, there are all sorts of events going on in the solar system. it just so happens in coincidence that these two events happened today. we had the one that we already knew about for quite some time and this one that just sort of shows up out of no place. we could track the asteroid so we knew it was happening but that's much more difficult to do with objects as small as this meteor is. >> mason: derrick pitts, thank you very much. in case you were wondering an asteroid is essentially a mini planet, a piece of rock that orbits the sun. a meteor is a small piece of an asteroid that enters the earth's atmosphere as a shooting star. those that hit the earth are called meteorites. president obama went to his hometown of chicago today the last stop in a three-day tour to drum up support for the programs he outlined in his state of the union address. he started off talking about the need to stop gun violence. chicago has been plagued by it. >> last year, there were 443

murders with a firearm on the streets of this city. and 65 of those victims were 18 and under. so that's the equivalent of a newtown every four months. >> mason: chicago already has some of the toughest gun laws in the country. this week mayor rahm emanuel called for making them even tougher with mandatory minimum sentences for gun violations. would that work? dean reynolds takes a look. >> right there right there! >> reporter: last december, minutes after he allegedly shot at a neighbor -- >> man with a gun man with a gun. >> reporter: julian gayles was caught by chicago police. >> we got the guy. >> reporter: gayles, 22, already had a record of gun crimes and parole violations but little time behind bars. since 2009, he's been sentenced to seven years in jail but has served just two. he was on parole when we witnessed his arrest by police commander leo schmidt.

>> get him in the car. check him very thoroughly. >> reporter: and is now in custody again awaiting trial. chicago police suspect gary mccarthy wants such offenders to face a mandatory minimum sentence. >> this has to stop. gun offenders have to do significant jail time. >> reporter: but cook county sheriff tom dart wonders where. you don't have enough cells? >> god no. we are at capacity right now. the state prison system is beyond capacity. talk to them right now they haven't had a population like this in decades. and there's no place to put them. >> what are you in on? >> possession. >> reporter: straight possession? >> reporter: dart runs the largest county jail in the country, nearly 10,000 inmates. >> you've got 300 people in a former cafeteria. you got people in the hospital sleeping on the floor. >> yeah. yeah. yeah. this is, you know, not something that you would design. frankly, at this time, this should be a building that we should have empty right now at

this time of year. there should be no one in it. because of our population explosion this is full. >> reporter: experts say the prison population would swell by thousands if mandatory minimum sentences came to pass for gun violations. >> we just can't have this irrational type of notion that there's magic jail cells all over the place that we can just put people that are all sitting there empty. it's as if all of a sudden we just raise penalties and these people get shipped off to the moon or something. no we know where we need to put them and we need money to fund that. >> reporter: but illinois doesn't have the money anthony and has actually been closing prisons to save money. and as s hoping that by saving money it can get out of the budget spiral where it owes $9 billion in unpaid bills right now. >> mason: dean reynolds in chicago, thanks, dean. criminal charges were filed today against former chicago congressman jesse jackson jr. prosecutors say he spent three quarters of a million dollars in

campaign money on himself. including furniture at his home in northwest washington. that's where nancy cordes is tonight. nancy? >> reporter: anthony, according to these court documents, jackson spent more than $9,000 on children's furniture for this house using campaign funds and that was one of the more mundane purchases. he has been charged with one count of conspiracy-- which is punishable by up to five years in prison. prosecutors paint 47-year-old jesse jackson, jr. as a profligate spender who used campaign donations to indulge frivolous and expensive whims. $43,000 on a gold-plated men's rolex watch. $5,000 on fur capes and parkas. and a long list of bruce lee and michael jackson memorabilia. including a $4,000 guitar and a $4,600 fedora. prosecutors say tens of thousands more went to pay down personal credit cards.

jackson, jr. came to congress in 1995, the promising and personable son of a civil rights leader, the reverend jesse jackson. last summer, the congressman disappeared for a month before revealing that he was being treated for bipolar disorder. he resigned in november and two months later his wife sandy who served as his campaign manager stepped down from her position as a chicago alderwoman. today she was charged with one count of filing false tax returns. in a statement the former congressman apologizes for improper decisions but he adds "it is my hope that i am remembered for the things i did right." lawyers for mrs. jackson say she has signed a plea agreement and sources tell cbs mr. jackson has, too. that means he likely won't face the maximum penalty, though he could still be looking at a couple years of jail time at and a very large fine, anthony. >> mason: nancy cordes, thank

you, nancy. there are still questions tonight about the fire at the california cabin where police cornered an ex-cop bent on revenge. was that blaze an accident or did law enforcement set it on purpose? carter evans has the latest on the information. >> reporter: we're getting a first look at the charred remains of the cabin where alleged cop killer christopher dorner made his last stand on tuesday. we were there caught in the cross fire. the gun battle was so intense we were forced to take cover but we left our cell phone on. at the very beginning of the shootout, you can hear authorities near the phone talking about burning dorner out of the cabin he was holed up in. >> reporter: over the next three hours authorities brought if reinforcements. armored vehicles, more swat teams, and this battering ram which authorities told me at the scene would be used to deploy a

powerful form of tear gas also known as a burner into the cabin. the burner gives off intense heat which often causes a fire. recordings of police scanners during the final assault confirm their plan. >> reporter: despite those recordings, the day after the shootout, san bernardino county sheriff john mcmahon insisted -- >> it was not on purpose. we did not intentionally burn down that cabin to get mr. dorner out. >> reporter: we've repeatedly asked the sheriff's department for a response but no one has returned our calls. here at headquarters today, they have declined to answer any questions ahead of a press conference which is scheduled to take place in about 20 minutes. anthony? >> mason: carter evan, thank you, carter. facebook said today it's been hacked. the world's largest social network says it discovered last month that it was the target of a sophisticated attack by

unknown hackers. but it says no user accounts were compromised. the athlete known as the blade runner breaks down after being charged with murder. passengers describe the deplorable conditions on that disabled cruise ship. and a baby orca is born to swim when the "cbs evening news" continues. but with advair, i'm breathing better. so now i can be in the scene. advair is clinically proven to help significantly improve lung function. unlike most copd medications advair contains both an anti-inflammatory and a long-acting bronchodilator working together to help improve your lung function all day. advair won't replace fast-acting inhalers for sudden symptoms and should not be used more than twice a day. people with copd taking advair may have a higher chance of pneumonia. advair may increase your risk of osteoporosis and some eye problems.

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>> mason: one of the passengers from the carnival "triumph" says she never wants to hear the word cruise again. the ordeal ended late last night when the disabled cruise ship was towed to mobile, alabama. tonight, more than 4,000 passengers and crew are safe. anna werner reports on what comes next. >> reporter: the 13-story high 100,000 ton carnival "triumph" sits in a mobile shipyard tonight. investigators are trying to find out how and why the engine fire began that left the ship without power. coast guard marine investigator patrick cutty spoke to cbs news by phone after seeing the damaged engine room. >> . >> reporter: eight days after what was supposed to be a four-day cruise to mexico passengers cheered then some literally kissed the ground when they finally got off the ship

late last night. >> the floor is covered in water. >> reporter: more pictures of the squalid conditions on board emerged today. sun decks turned into tent cities plastic bags were substitutes for toilets. and carpets were stained by seeping sewage. passenger bettye priebyl. what was the worst part about that for you? >> not having a toilet. it was just really gross. and we had no -- at times we had no water. so we couldn't even wash our hands. >> reporter: but many passengers like melissa mcdavid had only praise for the crew. >> they were going on no sleep for days and days and days. so they were awesome. >> reporter: nicole brown from dallas kept a bed sheet that passengers used as a memory wall to sign their names and write messages. what do you want to remember out of this? >> i just want to remember that we were all family, we made it, and we survived. >> reporter: many of the passengers were put on buses to

be taken to new orleans before going home. bad luck struck again when one of those buses broke down mid-trip. now, those passengers were put on another bus and many of them are in their hometowns tonight. now, this ship is registered in the bahamas, that means that the bahamian maritime authority is actually in charge of the investigation which means the u.s. coast guard and n.t.s.b. are only assisting in this investigation. and tonight, anthony a passenger has filed the first lawsuit against carnival over that cruise. >> mason: knew that was coming. anna we werer in mobile, alabama, tonight. thanks anna. airbus, the european aircraft maker, said today it's dropping lithium ion batteries from its newest model. instead, it will use traditional nickel cadmium batteries on itsch comes out next year. airbus made the decision after its rival boeing, was forced to ground all of its new 787s when two lithium batteries overheated-- one caught fire.

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he's convicted. we got our first look today at venezuelan president hugo chavez since he underwent cancer surgery in cuba two months ago. photos show him reading yesterday's edition of cuba's state newspaper his daughters by his side. officials say chavez is breathing through a tracheal tube and struggling to speak. at seaworld in san diego they welcomed a newborn baby orca. the mother, a killer whale gave birth in the water yesterday and the new baby immediately took off swimming. they don't know yet if it's a boy or girl but it's one big baby-- almost seven feet long and 350 pounds. a special honor for a woman who gave her life protecting her students. "on the road" with steve hartman is next. ile dysfunction - you know,that could be a question of blood flow. cialis tadalafil for daily use helps you be ready anytime the moment's right. you can be more confident in your ability to be ready. and the same cialis is the only daily ed tablet

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if you have high blood pressure and get a cold get coricidin hbp. the number one pharmacist recommended cold brand designed for people with high blood pressure. and the only one i use to relieve my cold symptoms without raising my blood pressure. coricidin hbp. >> mason: finally tonight the word "hero" is often overused but sometimes, as steve hartman found "on the road" in newtown connecticut, you can discover a real hero right in your own home. >> reporter: after 31 years of marriage, bill sherlach said he and his wife had fallen into a routine-- every morning pretty much the same. however, for whatever reason, on the morning of december 14, bill did something different. >> she's coming across the kitchen floor and i grabbed her

and i gave her a big hug and we had a big kiss. now, most mornings it's grab the coffee, out the door, what's on the schedule. not that morning. not that morning. >> reporter: it's the only consolation in what has been an otherwise inconsolable new year. >> there's just a huge part that's gone. >> reporter: later that day, 56-year-old school psychologist mary sherlach became one of the six adult victims of the sandy hook shooting. >> they gave their lives to protect the precious children in their care. >> reporter: today in washington, d.c. all six were posthumously awarded the presidential citizens medal one of our country's highest civilian commendations. >> that's what we honor today. the courageous heart the selfless spirit, the inspiring actions after extraordinary americans. >> reporter: although we may never know exactly what happened inside the school that day we do know this about mary. : she was in a meeting heard

gunfire and ran toward it. that's what makes her a hero to most of us. but to her husband she'd already earned that title long before. that's you? >> that's me. >> reporter: by the time they met in college mary had already decided she wanted to work helping people. she took some time off to raise their two girls but eventually got her master's in psychology and then her dream job at sandy hook. >> when she started working with these kids, it was her mission. >> they were having a tough day they could go see mary. >> reporter: kris feda worked with mary and was with her when the shooting started. >> she went out to check it out and protect and see what was happening knowing that -- that something was -- something wasn't right. >> reporter: this week, bill went to the warehouse where they've been storing all the cards and gifts that have been pouring in from around the world for the victims' families. >> i thought my vehicle was big enough but it's not going to be. >> it's a lot of stuff. >> reporter: he's at a place where he can start to go through

some of this, but he says he's a long way from completely accepting any of it. >> you catch yourself, something -- oh, i wonder what mary's going to think about this. oh. you know it's like those big pink erasers in elementary school? it's just like someone just went -- just erased her. >> reporter: is there any good that will ever come from this? >> there better be. it's a tremendous waste if it's not. >> reporter: steve hartman "on the road" in newtown connecticut. >> mason: and that's the "cbs evening news." for scott pelley, i'm anthony mason. thanks for watching and i'll see you tomorrow on cbs "this morning" saturday. good night. captioning sponsored by cbs captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

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